As another very eventful year draws to a close, we wish to take this opportunity to thank our readers for their interest, our advertisers for their support and all those who contributed
articles and their views in CargoForwarder Global during 2018.We are proud of the fact that our regular subscriber list now totals almost 30,000 - many thanks for your support.

It has in many respects proven to be a very turbulent and interesting year.Read more >>

The package labeled “development perspectives” Mrs von Boxberg presented to the 90 attendees of the German Air Cargo Club’s (ACD) year-end meeting held in Frankfurt last Tuesday was
colored in enchanting green. In many cultures, green is the symbol color for optimism, growth, and vitality. And her presentation was full of confidence concerning the future of Lufthansa Cargo’s
business but also the industrial development as such in times ahead.Her optimistic outlook was appreciated by freight forwarders and GSAs in view of the global political and economic challenges.They also were the first to learn that the carrier will soon launch a new app for digitalizing Dangerous Goods documentation.Read more >>

The ambitions of Brussels Airport do not stop at pharmaceuticals. Together with the physical upgrade and expansion of the cargo village, e-commerce is another top project under
construction, stresses BRU’s Head of Cargo Steven Polmans during a one-to-one meeting with CargoForwarder Global.

We reported earlier this year that Turkish Airlines Cargo has plans to expand their worldwide cargo operations and that the Istanbul New Airport which will officially open on December
29th, plays an important role for this expansion.Read more >>

An action plan published by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), reveals that China aims to transform its civil aviation industry to become the world's leader by 2050, a
Xinhua report said.Under the plan, from 2021 to 2035, China will strengthen its civil aviation industry to not only take the lead in air transportation, but also become home to the world's most competitive
airlines and aviation hubs.Read more >>

Etihad Airways, the second-largest shareholder of debt-laden Indian carrier Jet Airways, is reportedly holding talks with the airline and its bankers on a possible rescue plan, Reuters
quoted two sources aware of the matter as saying.Read more >>

The Germans did it years ago. Now the Dutch Finance ministry pushes plans ahead for introducing a tax on aviation. If done, it would severely impact cargo operations both in Amsterdam and
Maastricht. Even worse, the latter may be forced to abandon the full-length use of its runway.Read more >>

Singapore Post (SingPost) experienced a surge in parcel volumes during the year-end peak season, as a result of online shopping campaigns such as Singles Day, Black Friday and Cyber
Monday, the postal authority said in a statement.SingPost’s courier subsidiary SP Parcels delivered more than 580,000 parcels locally in the month of November, a 24% increase compared to non-peak months and a jump of 25% year on
year.

CHAMP HQ in Luxembourg, but 200 of their staff are working in Manila, Philippines - picture: CHAMP

Obviously, CHAMP Cargosystems doesn’t feel like being a dinosaur, facing extinction sooner or later. Instead, the management of the Cargo Management System (CMS) provider assures that the
company is in a comfortable situation. In this context they refer to their phenomenal 85 percent market share in messaging, accounting for 53 percent of the global market share. Two thirds of
their customers belong to the top 25 leading carriers, such as Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific or Japan Airlines.Impressive figures indeed, announced by CEO Arnaud Lambert on several occasions. But – caution – they are deceiving as well. Because they conceal the fact that the market position of the
SITA/Cargolux daughter is increasingly challenged by agile newcomers. This gradual loss of significance is caused by a multitude of mutually depending factors, particularly management
shortcomings and insufficient supervision by their equity holders.Read more >>

In the past The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) has been criticised for what many saw as a lack of input into issues which they should have tackled on behalf of the air cargo
community. This has changed during the past twelve months after there was a change at the top and the new heads, Sebastiaan Scholte, Steven Polmans and Vladimir Zubkov took up the reins. Since
then there has been a distinct move within TIACA to react to problems and problem areas in air cargo. Two recent events have highlighted this even more.Read more >>